Cliff Hagan, the Hall of Fame forward who helped the St. Louis Hawks win the 1958 NBA championship, died Thursday at 94.
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His death was reported by longtime Kentucky journalist and Cats' Pause founder Oscar Combs, according to WKYT.
Hagan spent all 10 of his NBA seasons with the Hawks, earning five consecutive All-Star selections from 1958-62. He later became a player-coach for the Dallas Chaparrals in the ABA and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1978.
A 6-foot-4 forward known for a hook shot he could release with either hand, Hagan found ways to score against much taller defenders. He was a central figure in one of the early NBA's most important rivalries and one of its most consequential trades.
Cliff Hagan of the St. Louis Hawks goes for the rebound during an NBA game against the Cincinnati Royals on November 2, 1958. (Getty Images)
Boston drafted Hagan in 1953, but military service delayed his NBA debut. In 1956, the Celtics sent him and Ed Macauley to St. Louis for the draft rights to Bill Russell.
Russell went on to transform the Celtics. Hagan helped make the Hawks champions, too.
After losing to Boston in the 1957 Finals, St. Louis won the rematch in six games the following year. Hagan averaged 27.7 points during the 1958 postseason, giving the Hawks another major scoring threat alongside Bob Pettit.
His basketball résumé already included a national championship at Kentucky in 1951. He also played on the Wildcats' undefeated 1954 team, which finished 25-0 but did not participate in the NCAA Tournament because of eligibility restrictions affecting Hagan and two teammates.
Hagan later returned to Kentucky as an athletics administrator and served as the university's athletic director.
"So, so saddened to hear news former UK All American Cliff Hagan passed away today," Combs wrote.
Hagan's career connected Kentucky's early championship years, the Hawks' title in St. Louis and the launch of the ABA. He won at the highest levels of college and professional basketball, with a game distinctive enough to earn him a place in Springfield.
